Analysts talk up smartphones of the future

Smartphones of the future will feature high res 3D screens, 3D cameras, NFC technology and a host of other geeky goodies.

After a quick glance at its crystal ball, Jon Peddie Research reckons all half decent smartphones will featured 3D screens and cameras by 2015. Additional processing power will allow for the implementation of new technologies, such as augmented reality, more realistic maps and stunning games.

NFC is coming even sooner. JPR believes it will be a “gotta-have” feature by 2014, which is quite impressive, as the first NFC equipped phone, Google’s Nexus S, launched roughly a year ago.

Not only will the smartphones of tomorrow be a lot smarter, but there will be a lot more of them. JPR estimates that more than three quarters of a billion smartphones will ship in 2016. To put things in perspective, the combined population of the EU and US is just over 800 million. Sales of regular phones will hit 869 million, while tablets and e-book readers should see shipments of 300 and 100 million respectively.

So there you have it, a pretty positive outlook to say the least. Let’s just hope that by 2016 we won’t end up living in a barter economy, fighting Mel Gibson over the last scraps of food and oil.